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Expert Q&A
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| By Harriet S. Worobey, M.A. Early Childhood Educator Director, the Nutritional Sciences Preschool | ||
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How can I encourage social play for my 3-year-old at home so he plays more with other children at preschool and with the neighborhood children?
It is terrific that you are concerned with your child's social development. Probably the best thing you can do is to have one child at a time from either preschool or the neighborhood over to your house for a play date. Try to pick a time when your child will not be too tired or cranky. Also, don't make the play date so long in time that the children get too wound up or out of control.
What I used to do with my daughter to avoid sharing problems was to have her select one or two of her favorite toys to put away in the closet so that no one else could play with it and let her know that everything else needed to be shared with the guest. You might want to plan a special art or cooking project to make the playdate more special.
Do be aware that most 3-year-olds are still at a developmental stage in which most of their play is termed "parallel play." What that means is that they want to play next to their friends, with similar toys and definite boundaries of which toys belong to which child.
Most children develop true cooperative play ("You be the Mommy, I'll be the Daddy," "Let's build a rocket ship," "Let's do that floor puzzle together") around the age of 4 to 4 1/2. This will happen naturally but even more smoothly because of your concern and efforts."
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